KISSING
A WOMAN
-
Tapan Kumar Pradhan (India)
Just five years ago
she won't even let me
come near her
let alone a kiss
her lips
were a forbidden
territory.
I would coax her, croon
her, cajole her
Plead with her,
and fall at her feet
a-begging
"Just this once,
darling !"
but no …., she would
say --
NO !
I would take her to
isolated parks
dimly lit cafés
cheap sentimental
movies, waiting
like a stork, angling
for a kiss.
And what tricks I would
not invent
colliding with her in
the dark,
surprising her on her
birthdays
with lemon and spoon
games
pretending to be
innocent
and making her share
a single cold drink
with me, waiting
for the moment of
opportunity -
but she would con my
moves
and say ---- NO !!
And now half a dozen
springs
and countless sunsets
and a thousand caresses
and two children later
she complains
that I do not kiss her
enough !
****